US President Barack Obama is presented with and honorary doctor of law degree after delivering the commencement address during a ceremony at Morehouse College on May 19, 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

President Barack Obama, in a soaring commencement address on work, sacrifice and opportunity, told graduates of Morehouse College Sunday to seize the power of their example as black men graduating from college and use it to improve people’s lives.

Noting the Atlanta school’s mission to cultivate, not just educate, good men, Obama said graduates should not be so eager to join the chase for wealth and material things, but instead should remember where they came from and not “take your degree and get a fancy job and nice house and nice car and never look back.”

“So yes, go get that law degree. But if you do, ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and powerful, or if you can also find time to defend the powerless,” Obama declared. “Sure, go get your MBA, or start that business, we need black businesses out there. But ask yourself what broader purpose your business might serve, in putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood.”

President Obama’s Morehouse College Commencement Speech – Part I:

“The most successful CEOs I know didn’t start out intent on making money – rather, they had a vision of how their product or service would change things, and the money followed,” he said.

For those headed to medical school, Obama said “make sure you heal folks in underserved communities who really need it, too.” He asked those headed to law school to think about defending the poor.

Rain drenched the audience gathered in Atlanta for the outdoor ceremony before Obama arrived, forcing many guests to wear clear plastic ponchos over what amounted to Sunday-best clothes. Rain began to fall again, and thunder clapped, minutes after Obama began his address.

“I also have to say you all are going to get wet,” he said. “I would be out there with you if I could. But Secret Service gets nervous, so I’m going to have to stay here, dry. But know that I’m with you in spirit.”

The speech was Obama’s second commencement address of the season, following remarks last Sunday at Ohio State University in Columbus. His third and final graduation address will come Friday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

At Morehouse, Obama also urged graduates to “inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves.” As America’s first black president addressing a predominantly black audience, Obama also talked about his personal story, growing up without a father he wished had been around and involved, and his desire to a better father to daughters Malia and Sasha than his father was to him.

“We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices,” he said. “Growing up, I made quite a few myself. Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down. I had a tendency sometimes to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years, is there’s no longer any room for excuses.”

President Obama’s Morehouse College Commencement Speech – Part II:

“I understand there’s a common fraternity creed here at Morehouse: excuses are tools of the incompetent, used to build bridges to nowhere and monuments of nothingness,” he said. “Well, we’ve got no time for excuses – not because the bitter legacies of slavery and segregation have vanished entirely; they haven’t.

“Not because racism and discrimination no longer exist; we know those are still out there,” he added. “It’s just that in today’s hyper-connected, hyper-competitive world, with millions of young people from China and India and Brazil, many of whom started with a whole lot less than all of you did, all of them entering the global workforce alongside you, nobody is going to give you anything that you haven’t earned.”

“And moreover,” the president said, “you have to remember that whatever you’ve gone through pales in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured – and they overcame, and if they overcame them, you can overcome them too.”

About 500 students received undergraduate degrees from the historically black, all-male institution in Atlanta, becoming “Morehouse Men.”

After the speech, Obama was to attend a Democratic Senate fundraiser, also in Atlanta.

]]>http://newsone.com/2463873/barack-obama-morehouse-commencement/feed/11obama-morehkirstenwestsavaliPresident Barack Obama Obama’s Morehouse Visit Shines Spotlight On HBCUshttp://newsone.com/2461023/obamas-morehouse-visit-shines-spotlight-on-hbcus/
http://newsone.com/2461023/obamas-morehouse-visit-shines-spotlight-on-hbcus/#commentsSat, 18 May 2013 21:52:00 +0000http://newsone.com/?p=2461023]]>ATLANTA (AP) — When President Barack Obama addresses graduates at Morehouse College on Sunday, he’ll also be speaking to the broader community of historically black colleges and universities — a proud corner of higher education that has struggled more than most during the last few years of economic distress.

The so-called HBCUs educate a hugely disproportionate share of low-income students, and both students and schools have been hit hard by a double punch. First, unemployment for blacks remains nearly double that of whites, making it harder for many students to keep up with tuition. Secondly, tougher credit standards have made it harder to secure a federal PLUS loan used by about one-third of HBCU students.

The result shows graduation rates have worsened at HBCUs, which were already facing scrutiny under a national push to improve outcomes in higher education, according to U.S. Education Department data analyzed by The Associated Press.

The AP found graduation rates declined at 57 of the 80 four-year HBCUs that have complete data between 2006 and 2011. While total HBCU enrollment increased about 3 percent overall, the aggregate graduation rate for HBCU students fell from 37.7 percent in 2006 to 33.7 percent in 2011, the AP found.

That means of the 47,139 students who entered HBCUs six years before, just 15,885 had completed their degree by 2011, though the figures do not include transfers or part-time students.

“Particularly after this recession, I’m looking at an African-American unemployment rate of 16 percent, that’s touching my students,” said Walter Kimbrough, president of Dillard University in New Orleans, who has been critical in the past of some HBCUs. He believes recent criticism of their low graduation rates is unfair.

“They all know somebody who’s lost their job, and if it’s somebody who’s helping them pay for their schooling, we may not see them next semester,” he said.

Morehouse’s 2011 graduation rate, however, was 55 percent, among the very highest of HBCUs.

The HBCU rates compare to a national average of about 58 percent, and 39 percent for blacks at all four-year institutions. However, while the most selective colleges have much higher graduation rates, their enrollments are also heavily tilted toward high-income students. One recent study found two-thirds of students at the 193 most selective colleges came from the top 25 percent of income, and just 15 percent from the bottom half.

At HBCUs, by contrast, about two-thirds of students receive Pell Grants, which are almost always awarded to families earning less than $40,000. Such students are not only more likely to need to start college with remedial work — which makes for a longer path to graduation — but they are much more vulnerable to financial problems that could drive them from school.

Only 83 institutions nationwide have as many at 60 percent of their students receiving Pell Grants, Kimbrough said. Fifty of them are HBCUs.

The struggles of students have translated into trouble for HBCUs themselves. About 40 percent have seen enrollment declines, and 20 schools saw enrollment fall more than 10 percent between 2006 and 2011, according to AP’s analysis.

Financial struggles pushed Morehouse student Remy Sylvan to tap into his entrepreneurial side to finance part of his education. As the economy worsened, business suffered at his family’s restaurant in Seattle, and his parents were unable to pay as much of his tuition as before, he said.

So Sylvan, who is set to graduate with a marketing degree, began doing independent software technician and coding work to make ends meet.

“It hurt the family at first because of the economic struggle, but it helped because it actually gave me the spirit to do something myself,” Sylvan said. “You just got to find other intuitive ways to make ends meet. And I think that’s what America overall is going through right now.”

Marybeth Gasman, a leading historian of HBCUs at the University of Pennsylvania, said HBCUs typically have small endowments so they can’t offer students the aid they need during tough times.

“It’s been difficult but I do think that HBCUs tend to be fairly resilient,” she said. “They tend to be creative about how to do things they know how to do on a small budget.”

Gasman said retention rates are rising for all students, including non-traditional ones.

“You can’t hold them to the same standard to institutions that are not willing to take any of those risks,” she said. “There are lots of things to be optimistic about. If you look at individual HBCUs, there are a lot of people doing really good things.”

Obama spoke to graduates of historically black Hampton University in 2010. One of Obama’s connections to Morehouse is its current president, John Silvanus Wilson, who previously served under the president as executive director of a program designed to help HBCUs. Wilson, himself a Morehouse graduate, took the helm at the school earlier this year.

Kimbrough said funding increases in Obama’s first-term had been helpful, but the most important thing was heading off cuts to the Pell Grant program. Funding rose substantially in Obama’s first term but has been flat recently.

“We’d just like to see a little more forcefulness to make sure our students are protected,” he said.

ATLANTA, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Morehouse College Board of Trustees today announced that Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr. has been named the College’s 11th president. The appointment follows a rigorous, nationwide search conducted with professional recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles. The search was launched following the January 2012 announcement that Dr. Robert M. Franklin would be transitioning from his role as president at the end of the year.

“I thank the Board and the search consultants for their thorough evaluation of the excellent pool of candidates and commend all on their outstanding recommendation,” said Robert C. Davidson Jr., chairman of the Morehouse College Board of Trustees. “Dr. Wilson has the vision, experience and passion to ensure that Morehouse continues to advance its aim of producing global leaders who will continue to make a difference in the world. His record of academic excellence and public service is exemplary of the standard we hold for Morehouse Men. The Board and I are confident that, with his leadership, we will be well-positioned to continue delivering the educational environment that prepares our students for lives of leadership and service.”

Wilson, a 1979 graduate of the College, comes to Morehouse with more than 25 years of leadership in higher education and a strong and successful record in institutional fund raising. In addition, Wilson has extensive expertise in defining and advancing the interests of black colleges through his research at George Washington University, his service on the Spelman College Board of Trustees and as executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“John has been a trusted voice, helping my administration follow through on our commitment to strengthen historically black colleges and universities,” said President Barack Obama. “I wish John the best as he takes on this important new role as the president of Morehouse College and as he continues to inspire more of our nation’s youth to pursue higher education.”

As executive director of the White House Initiative, Wilson worked to strengthen the capacity of 105 HBCUs and led his team to work with the White House, 32 federal agencies, and the private corporate and philanthropic sectors in securing capital.

“John has been a leader among leaders, advocating for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and challenging them to be the best they can be,” U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “Morehouse College is fortunate to have John as its next president, and President Obama and I are fortunate to benefit from John’s continuing commitment to reach our national goal of leading the world in college graduates by 2020.”

Wilson will officially assume the role of president at the end of January 2013. Willis B. Sheftall Jr., interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, will serve as acting president from January 1, 2013, until Wilson officially takes office.

“Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Wilson has demonstrated his commitment to supporting the critical role HBCUs serve within our national educational landscape,” said Robert M. Franklin, 10th president of Morehouse. “Our institution and our students will be very well served by Dr. Wilson’s experience, focus and passion.”

“I am honored to be chosen to lead this hallowed institution and my alma mater,” said Wilson. “Dr. Franklin’s efforts to raise the international profile of the College and advance our mission through his ‘Morehouse Renaissance’ are just a few among the many significant accomplishments by which he will be remembered. I thank the Board for its confidence in my leadership and look forward to working with faculty, students and staff, and continuing our proud tradition of producing global leaders.”

Before working with the White House Initiative, Wilson was an associate professor of higher education in the Graduate School of Education at George Washington University (GWU). He also served as the executive dean of GWU’s Virginia campus, and he helped to develop a strategic plan for the university. While at GWU, the focus of his research and teaching included advancement and finance in higher education and the role of black colleges and universities.

Wilson spent the first 16 years of his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), ultimately becoming the director of foundation relations and assistant provost, where he more than doubled the productivity of the office he managed and reached a record annual revenue stream of more than $50 million.

He received his bachelor’s degree from Morehouse and graduate degrees from Harvard University, including his master of theology and both a master’s and a doctoral degree in administration, planning and social policy. While working at MIT, he served as a teaching fellow in Harvard University’s Afro-American Studies Department in its Graduate School of Education.

For 10 years, Wilson served as the president of the Greater Boston Morehouse College Alumni Association. In that role, he led an effort to raise more than half a million dollars toward scholarships and another half million dollars toward community outreach for his alumni chapter. In 1998, Morehouse awarded him the Benjamin Elijah Mays (Bennie) Award in Leadership.

Wilson recently has served as a consultant to the United Negro College Fund Institute for Capacity Building’s HBCU Institutional Advancement Program and on the Kresge Foundation’s Black College Advisory Board. From 1996 through 2000, he served as chairman of the Alumni Council of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He has served on the boards of both the Samaritans and the Andover Newton Theological School.

He is married to Dr. Carol Espy-Wilson, an engineering professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. They have twin daughters and a son.

As the nation’s largest, private liberal arts college for men, Morehouse College was recently recognized as one of the top 100 Social Media Colleges by Studentadvisor.com; as one of the top liberal arts college in the nation by Washington Monthly; one of 45 “Best Buy” schools for 2011 by the Fiske Guide to Colleges; one of the nation’s Most Grueling Colleges in 2010 by The Huffington Post; and the number three HBCU in the nation for 2012 by U.S. News and World Report.

Prominent alumni include Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize winner and civil and human rights non-violent leader; Dr. David Satcher, former U.S. Surgeon General and director of the National Center for Primary Care of Morehouse School of Medicine; Shelton “Spike” Lee, filmmaker and president of 40 Acres & A Mule Productions; Samuel L. Jackson, Academy Award-nominated actor; Maynard H. Jackson, founder of Jackson Securities and the first African American mayor of Atlanta; and Nima A. Warfield, the first African American Rhodes Scholar from an HBCU.

]]>http://newsone.com/2080978/john-s-wilson-jr-morehouse-college/feed/28MkirstenwestsavaliMSeeing Beyond The Facade Of Morehouse Menhttp://newsone.com/1729705/seeing-beyond-the-facade-of-morehouse-men/
http://newsone.com/1729705/seeing-beyond-the-facade-of-morehouse-men/#commentsMon, 19 Dec 2011 02:23:19 +0000http://newsone.com/?p=1729705]]>“You can tell a Morehouse Man, but you can’t tell him much,” is one of the main reasons why the Morehouse brand currently carries a social stigma. This phrase has generated the belief that the Morehouse community is full of arrogant and conceited black men who have lost touch with those who look like them. The few people who do embrace this false truth have left the rest of their brothers in an unfair position to battle these stereotypes on a national level. This must end.

In his charge to the graduating class of 1961, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the sixth president of Morehouse, said, “There is an air of expectancy at Morehouse College. It is expected that the student who enters here will do well. It is also expected that once a man bears the insignia of a Morehouse graduate, he will do exceptionally well. We expect nothing less.”

Dr. Mays’ half-century-old statement has resounded on campus louder than the bell in front of Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel. Every time it is read or recited, one word roars louder than the others: expect. Mother Morehouse expects that after she has finished developing young males’ minds, they will create a better tomorrow for the entire black community. Some men of the Morehouse family have confused expect with guarantee, resulting in some students and alumni coasting on the Morehouse brand that others have arduously worked to maintain.

Each Morehouse Man has spent at least four years journeying through campus until their name is called to walk across the threshold into Black manhood. Before that threshold is crossed, Mother Morehouse guides the students as they build the ideal character needed to create a lasting impression on this world. Unfortunately, only a portion of recent graduates can claim character as something they graduated with.

Every August, a new freshman class walks through the gates of the school and into the campus gymnasium only to have their older brothers try to transform them into Black elitists. Freshmen are repeatedly told during the first week of New Student Orientation of the superficial characteristics that Men of Morehouse embody: “Men of Morehouse represent more than the ideal black men,” they say. “We are already leaders who must exude a certain swagger, and our charm and intellect can entice any woman.” Yes, Morehouse does tell their freshman of what is expected, but the bravado has seemed to overshadow the greater good. This is a problem.

On behalf of my brothers, I apologize if you have come to always expect bombastic and pompous Men of Morehouse. However, if you have allowed yourself to falsely characterize the entire Morehouse family based on a few bad interactions, then you are no better. Every day you fight unfounded socially constructed notions about your community, knowing that these cannot be assigned to you or every person that looks like you.

No student at Morehouse, or any HBCU, should have the unfounded belief that they are a different breed. The smallest amount of time finding flaws in your brother and sister school is counterproductive, whether it is in good fun or not. This breeds hatred instead of promoting unity. The purpose of college is to develop the individual and help the community rather than embracing a superficial identity that degrades one another.

The concept of the Morehouse Man is extremely fluid and differs from each member of the community. In my opinion, the ideal representative of Morehouse College is a man who understands his limitations and capitalizes on his capabilities so that he may create a better tomorrow for himself, his family, and the rest of the community. Men of Morehouse and Morehouse Men need to stop living up to a facade and focus on the task at hand, creating a better tomorrow. Outsiders need to stop being critical of Morehouse and focus on the individual first and foremost.

This is what I expect.

]]>http://newsone.com/1729705/seeing-beyond-the-facade-of-morehouse-men/feed/44morehouse-men-300ionenewsoneMorehouse Students Divided Over Herman Cainhttp://newsone.com/1658275/morehouse-students-divided-over-herman-cain/
http://newsone.com/1658275/morehouse-students-divided-over-herman-cain/#commentsWed, 23 Nov 2011 15:38:38 +0000http://newsone.com/?p=1658275]]>Students at Morehouse College are reflecting on the legacy of one of Morehouse’s most famous alumni, Republican GOP candidate, Herman Cain.

At a recent political forum at Morehouse students were asked “Does Cain represent the modern Renaissance man of Morehouse?”

Byron Granberry, a junior and vice president of the campus Democratic group, got big applause when he declared that Morehouse should revoke Cain’s degree. Yet in an interview after last week’s forum, he asserted, with a Cain-like flourish, that he had only been joking.

Granberry said he disliked Cain’s view on social issues but believed that the candidate, with his rags-to-riches rise through the corporate world, had brought honor to Morehouse.

]]>http://newsone.com/1658275/morehouse-students-divided-over-herman-cain/feed/20caincganemccallaHow Herman Cain Sat Out The Civil Rights Movement At Morehousehttp://newsone.com/1577915/how-herman-cain-sat-out-the-civil-rights-movement-at-morehouse/
http://newsone.com/1577915/how-herman-cain-sat-out-the-civil-rights-movement-at-morehouse/#commentsTue, 11 Oct 2011 12:58:50 +0000http://newsone.com/?p=1577915]]>After Herman Cain’s interview with MSNBCs Lawrence O’Donell, more attention has been paid to his time at Morehouse College in Atlanta during the apex of the civil rights movement.

Cain had previously said he was a high school student during the civil rights movement and wasn’t old enough to participate, but records show he attended Morehouse, a hotbed for civil rights activism, from 1963-1967.

Civil rights activities, as several who attended Morehouse during the same years as Cain attest, were part of the Morehouse character, especially during that era. Dr. Walter M. Burns, a Houston native who now leads the Christian Home Community Church just outside Atlanta, shared that “Some of Dr. King’s people would come over and get some of us to march with them and, of course, as a freshman and a sophomore, I marched occasionally.”

Burns, who knows Cain well, also added that “We had a chance to be around Dr. King.” In fact, on Sundays, buses regularly carted Morehouse students to King’s family church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he often preached, Burns pointed out.

]]>http://newsone.com/1577915/how-herman-cain-sat-out-the-civil-rights-movement-at-morehouse/feed/62King FunerslcganemccallaMorehouse Men Suprise Oprah During Farewell Spectacularhttp://newsone.com/1256975/oprah-final-show-morehouse-college-students/
http://newsone.com/1256975/oprah-final-show-morehouse-college-students/#commentsWed, 25 May 2011 11:00:24 +0000http://newsone.com/?p=1256975]]>CHICAGO– A group of Morehouse College students surprised Oprah during the “Farewell Spectacular” on Tuesday. The men are amongst a group of 400 recipients of a Oprah Winfrey scholarship.

Paying it forward is one of the ways the men have chosen to thank Ms. Winfrey for their gift. Collectively, they have pledged over $300,000 to keep the scholarships going at Morehouse.

Some past recipients of the scholarship spoke on a video about what the degree received meant to them.

]]>http://newsone.com/1256975/oprah-final-show-morehouse-college-students/feed/8Oprah-Winfrey-is-greeted-by-Morehouse-College-students-Oprah-Winfrey-Dress-in-her-farewell-partyionenewsoneMorehouse Men React To "Mean Girls Of Morehouse"http://newsone.com/811685/morehouse-men-react-to-mean-girls-of-morehouse/
http://newsone.com/811685/morehouse-men-react-to-mean-girls-of-morehouse/#commentsFri, 15 Oct 2010 17:19:57 +0000http://newsone.com/?p=811685]]>The controversy surrounding Aliya S. King’s article titled “The Mean Girls of Morehouse,” revolving around Gay and Transgender students on the Morehouse campus, has received its share of applause and hate from people affiliated with Morehouse and other HBCU’s.